*The first rule of bagel baking club is...the swiss flours just won't work as there simply isn't a variety that has enough gluten. I've tried just about every kind there is in COOP/Migros. You can use swiss flours if you are patient enough or lucky enough to find a source of 'vital wheat gluten' or 'Weizenkleber' see:
http://expatchow.blogspot.com/2007/1...erfection.html but it is hard to find and outrageously expensive both in price and in shipping. You need to use German type flour 812/French type 80/Italian type 1. (NB: You can use German type 550 with reasonable success, too, if you can't find the 812...just don't use the 1050 as it's a 'first clear' flour and has a really strong taste to it that doesn't really make for a good bagel).
*Also, it helps immensely if you have a small scale to weigh the ingredients. I'm lazy and the scale helps my laziness in that I can just dump things into a bowl without the mess and fuss of measuring spoons, cups, etc. It's also important to get the ratios right so if you don't have a scale you might consider getting a cheap one since it really does remove an element of uncertainty in your baking.
*Get your oven HOT. I let mine warm up for about an hour while the bagels proof. If you're going to have that distinctive crunchy crust, you need to have a blast of hot air upon putting them in the oven.
*If the dough is still a little bit tacky after completing the kneading process, add a little bit of flour and knead it in, repeat in small amounts until it's soft, still moist but not overly tacky. This can fluctuate with the humidity outside. It should feel a little bit like a rubber ball.
* http://www.latimes.com/features/la-f...,6371921.story - bagel making secrets for home bakers
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la...4.photogallery - step-by-step guide in pictures to forming bagels. (out of the 2 techniques, poke a hole or rolling a log, I prefer this one as it makes for nicer bagels I think.
*Don't drop bagels into a rolling boil, just simmer the water.
*Experiment with the poaching time. If you poach to long, they turn out flat. If you poach too little, they're big and puffy and not shiny. Start with 1 minute and adjust as needed.
*You can get the malt at the Reformhaus.
*I always let the dough sit in the fridge overnight in the bowl instead of forming the bagels first as that requires too much space in my tiny euro fridge. I think this works out a little better, too.
*Helpful, but not essential, tools include a scale, a bench knife and a nice, smooth wooden table or work surface on which you can roll the dough. If you want perfect bagels, then you'll also need a baking stone and bagel boards.
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Bagels
by Peter Reinhart
Makes 8 bagels
SUMMARY:
Let’s clear something up right away: New York City isn’t the only place in the world to get decent, authentic bagels. The truth is, you can make bagels that are just as good at home, no matter where you live. They’re one of the simplest breads to make, requiring only flour, water, salt, yeast, and malt—and one secret ingredient: time (in the form of long, slow, cold fermentation). Any decent bagel shop knows this and uses an overnight method to stretch out the fermentation process, releasing all sorts of subtle flavors trapped in the flour. While bagel shops often use a type of high-protein flour not available to home cooks to achieve that distinctively chewy texture, regular, unbleached bread flour can also do the trick. The real key is to use a much lower percentage of water than is used for baguettes and other European hearth breads, producing a stiff dough that can stand up to a dunking in boiling water before going into the oven. More than any ingredient or other aspect of the method, this boiling step is what defines the uniqueness of the bagel.
That said, bagels do usually feature one other distinctive ingredient: barley malt. While this may seem like an exotic, hard-to-find product, it’s actually commonly available at most supermarkets, usually labeled “barley malt syrup.” If you can’t find it, simply substitute an equal amount of honey. Your bagels might not have that malty flavor, but they’ll still be better than almost any bagel you can buy.
One final note: If you like bagels but don’t want to set up the boiling operation for just six of them, feel free to double the size of the batch and bake enough to freeze for future use.
INGREDIENTS:
Dough
- 1 tablespoon barley malt syrup, (0.75 oz / 21 g) honey, or rice syrup, or 1 teaspoon (0.25 oz / 7 g) diastatic malt powder
- 1 teaspoon instant yeast, (0.11 oz / 3 g)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, (0.37 oz / 10.5 g) or 21/2 teaspoons coarse kosher salt
- 1 cup lukewarm water (about 95°F or 35°C), plus 2 tablespoons (9 oz / 255 g)
- 3 1/2 cups unbleached bread flour/German type 812/French type 80/Italian type 1, (16 oz / 454 g)
Poaching Liquid
- 2-3 quarts water, (64 to 96 oz / 1.81 to 2.72 kg)
- 1 1/2 tablespoons barley malt syrup or honey (optional), (1 oz / 28.5 g)
- 1 tablespoon baking soda, (0.5 oz / 14 g) (Natron in little packets in the baking section)
- 1 teaspoon salt, (0.25 oz / 7 g) or 11/2 teaspoons coarse kosher salt
METHOD:
1. To make the dough, stir the malt syrup, yeast, and salt into the lukewarm water. Place the flour into a mixing bowl and pour in the malt syrup mixture. If using a mixer, use the dough hook and mix on the lowest speed for 3 minutes.
If mixing by hand, use a large, sturdy spoon and stir for about 3 minutes, until well blended. The dough should form a stiff, coarse ball, and the flour should be fully hydrated; if it isn’t, stir in a little more water.
Let the dough rest for 5 minutes. Resume mixing with the dough hook on the lowest speed for another 3 minutes or transfer to a very lightly floured work surface and knead by hand for about 3 minutes to smooth out the dough and develop the gluten. The dough should be stiff yet supple, with a satiny, barely tacky feel. If the dough seems too soft or overly tacky, mix or knead in a little more flour. Place the dough in a clean, lightly oiled bowl, cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap, and let the dough rise at room temperature for 1 hour.
2. When you’re ready to shape the bagels, prepare a sheet pan by lining it with parchment paper or a silicone mat, then misting it with spray oil or lightly coating it with oil (I prefer to use corn meal/semolina as it works better and helps to make it easy to pick them up for poaching without deflating them). Divide the dough into 6 to 8 equal pieces. (A typical bagel is about 4 ounces or 113 grams before baking, but you can make them smaller. If you make more than 6 bagels, you may need to prepare 2 sheet pans.) Form each piece into a loose ball by rolling it on a clean, dry work surface with a cupped hand. (Don’t use any flour on the work surface. If the dough slides around and won’t ball up, wipe the surface with a damp paper towel and try again; the slight bit of moisture will provide enough traction for the dough to form into a ball.)
There are two methods to shape the balls into bagels. The first method is to poke a hole through the center of the ball to create a donut shape. Holding the dough with both thumbs in the hole, rotate the dough with your hands, gradually stretching it to create a hole about 2 inches in diameter.
3. The second method, preferred by professional bagel makers, is to use both hands (and a fair amount of pressure) to roll the ball into a rope about 8 inches long on a clean, dry work surface. (Again, wipe the surface with a damp towel, if necessary, to create sufficient friction on the work surface.) Taper the rope slightly at each end and moisten the last inch or so of the ends.
4. Place one end of the dough in the palm of your hand and wrap the rope around your hand to complete the circle, going between your thumb and forefinger and then all the way around. The ends should overlap by about 2 inches. Squeeze the overlapping ends together by closing your hand, then press the seam into the work surface, rolling it back and forth a few times to seal.
5. Remove the dough from your hand, squeezing it to even out the thickness if need be and creating a hole of about 2 inches in diameter.
6. Place each shaped bagel on the prepared sheet pan, then mist with spray oil or brush with a light coating of oil. Cover the entire pan with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight or for up to 2 days.
**(You can also proof the full piece of dough in the oiled bowl overnight and then shape the bagels on baking day, 60 to 90 minutes before boiling and baking them, or as soon as they pass the float test.)
7. On Baking Day Remove the bagels from the refrigerator 60 to 90 minutes before you plan to bake them, and if you plan to top them with dried onion or garlic, rehydrate those ingredients (see the variations). Immediately check whether the bagels are ready for baking using the “float test”: Place one of the bagels in a small bowl of cold water. If it sinks and doesn’t float back to the surface, shake it off, return it to the pan, and wait for another 15 to 20 minutes, then test it again. When one bagel passes the float test, they’re all ready to be boiled. If they pass the float test before you are ready to boil and bake them, return them to the refrigerator so they don’t overproof. About 30 minutes before baking, preheat the oven to 500°F (260°C) and gather and prepare your garnishes (seeds, onions, garlic, and so on).
8. To make the poaching liquid, fill a pot with 2 to 3 quarts (64 to 96 oz / 1.81 to 2.72 kg) of water, making sure the water is at least 4 inches deep. Cover, bring to a boil, then lower the heat to maintain at a simmer. Stir in the malt syrup, and salt. Add the baking soda only just before poaching. Gently lower each bagel into the simmering poaching liquid, adding as many as will comfortably fit in the pot. They should all float to the surface within 15 seconds.
9. After 1 minute, use a slotted spoon to turn each bagel over. Poach for another 30 to 60 seconds, then use the slotted spoon to transfer it back to the pan, domed side up. (It’s important that the parchment paper be lightly oiled, or the paper will glue itself to the dough as the bagels bake.) Sprinkle on a generous amount of whatever toppings you like as soon as the bagels come out of the water (except cinnamon sugar; see the variations for details). -- For perfect bagels, this is where you would place the bagels onto a pre-soaked bagel board.
10. Transfer the pan of bagels to the oven, then lower the oven heat to 450°F (232°C). Bake for 8 minutes, then rotate the pan and check the underside of the bagels. If they’re getting too dark, place another pan under the baking sheet. (Doubling the pan will insulate the first baking sheet.) Bake for another 8 to 12 minutes, until the bagels are a golden brown. Cool on a wire rack for at least 30 minutes before slicing or serving. -- If using a bagel board, bake for about 3-5 minutes and then flip the bagels onto the baking stone.
11. Variations: You can replace any amount of the bread flour with an equal amount of whole grain flour (by weight), such as wheat or rye. If you do so, increase the water in the dough by 1 tablespoon (0.5 oz / 14 g) for every 2 ounces (56.5 g) of whole grain flour you substitute.
Top your bagels with any combination of the following garnishes: poppy seeds, sesame seeds, coarse salt, or rehydrated dried onions or garlic. (Soak dried onions or garlic in water to cover for at least 1 hour before applying.) The toppings will stick even better if you first brush the top of each bagel with an egg white wash made by whisking 1 egg white with 1 tablespoon (0.5 oz / 14 g) of water. If using coarse salt as a garnish, remember that a little goes a long way.
For raisin bagels, mix in 11/3 cups (8 oz / 227 g) of raisins during the final 2 minutes of mixing and, if you like cinnamon, stir 1/2 teaspoon (0.14 oz / 4 g) of ground cinnamon into the flour before you start mixing. When the bagels come out of the oven, brush the tops with melted butter and dip the top into a bed of cinnamon sugar to give it a very tasty cinnamon crust. You can make cinnamon sugar by whisking 2 tablespoons (1.6 oz / 44 g) of ground cinnamon into 1/2 cup (4 oz / 113 g) of granulated sugar. SOURCE: Peter Reinhart
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